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I love to go wandering, close to home and far away. Small towns or big cities, urban or rural, present opportunities to look around with fresh eyes. I can turn a corner in places as different as the Recoleta Cemetary in Buenos Aires and the woods surrounding the Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas and be surprised.

Recoleta Cemetary

Crystal Bridges Art Museum

I come upon busy scenes and quiet ones. A street fair in San Telmo, a piazza in Florence. I can turn a corner and see a striking piece of contemporary sculpture whose curves echo those of the nearby buildings. Intentional or not, it’s a great sight.

San Telmo, Buenos Aires

Lucca, Italy

Anthony Caro in Florence

I meet the grand and the intimate. There are sights that make me want to stop and linger to look at details, to get more of a feel for the place. Homer and Anchor Point, Alaska have drop dead gorgeous views around every curve of the road along with weathered boats and cozy cafes. If I remember to look up in cities in Italy I find personal shrines, lovingly composed, around almost every corner.

Anchor Point, Alaska

Anchor Point, Alaska

Homer, Alaska

Florence, Italy

Florence, Italy

Different things with different messages around different corners.

Florence, Italy

Honey Grove, TX

I’ve learned from looking to expect the unexpected not just around the corner but across the street. Here’s some eye candy from the La Boca area of Buenos Aires.

La Boca, Buenos Aires

La Boca, Buenos Aires

La Boca, Buenos, Aires

I check out the facades of old buildings as I amble along the streets of downtown Dallas.

Dallas

Dallas

Dallas

I look across the street at walls, store windows and doors all over the world. They get my attention.

Greenville, SC

Ashland, NC

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Lucca, Italy

I look across the street and wonder what’s next.

Dallas

Honey Grove, TX

Often, there’s the “cute.”

Anchor Point, Alaska

Anchor Point, Alaska

And the downright funny.

21c.Museum Hotel, Ark.

Thanks for sending your photos for Around the Corner, Across the Street. I love the variety. Here they are.

Alice Schlein-Geese Crossing Road

Audrey Greene-Alligator

Bruce Schlein-NYC

Daniel Feld-Secret Slot Canyon Utah

Diane deMoye

Elizabeth Greene-Paris, TX

Gabriel Shapiro – Ft. Worth, TX

Ginger Mynatt-Grayson County, TX

Rochelle Jaye

Moses Hoskins

This will be the last All Things Photographic blog for a while. Have a great summer. Look around wherever you are. Your patience will be rewarded. Remember to expect the unexpected.

Shadows are ubiquitous. We see them, dawn to dusk, sharp and well defined on a bright, sunny day to barely discernible as daylight fades. They can be softly veiled in pale, indoor light.

We see shadows on the ground or on a wall. It’s a thing of a thing. Or a person. Sometimes the shadow is cast on another object or surface, neither ground nor wall.

Shadows layered over shadows dance together. They make graphic patterns with lines on sidewalks. They make their own abstract shape when cast by sculpture. They can be solid, block like or delicate and lacy. They can’t be contained as they zigzag up and down steps. They’re like wispy tracings or sharp and hard edged depending on the light.

If the shadow gets our attention do we also look for its owner, the thing that cast it? It’s marvelous, isn’t it, that we can tell that the flat shape represents a three dimensional object? But what? It’s sometimes hard to tell, I admit.

The following photos show shadows that I’ve captured, here, there, and everywhere. As you will see, I’ve cast a wide net.

St. Jo, TX

St. Jo, TX

Me and My Shadow

After The Rain

Cafe, Edwards, CO

Bridge in Woods, CO

Houston Museum of Fine Arts

Los Angeles

Screened Off

African American Museum, Dallas

Atrium, Dallas

Dallas

Dallas

Santa Fe, NM

George’s Place

Louise Campbell, Very Round Chair

Dallas Museum of Art

Round and Round

Circular

Zigzag

El Anatsui

Woodcreek Ranch, TX

Woodcreek Ranch, TX

Juan Fontanive – sculpture

Orlando, FL

Lisbon

Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal

Courtyard Dallas

Here are some photos that YOU sent for SHADOW PLAY. Thanks for taking the time to share your vision. Shadows are everywhere, aren’t they?

To see details is to notice the parts isolated from the whole. Without the context we focus on an object’s lines, shapes, colors or textures.

Here are some architectural details from ancient stone edifices to a new bridge whose details seem like line drawings against the sky.

D’s Palace, Sp;it

Cathedral, Zagreb

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Dallas

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Dallas

Iceland’s Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavek has a mostly clear glass and steel façade. You can see buildings in the distance as well as the structural detail when you get close.

Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik

The distinctive character of a wall, an unusual door handle and metal grillwork look different up close.

DUMBO, NYC

Kumrovec

La Boca, Buenos Aires

Japan

What walls are made of or what’s on them provide great visuals.

Japan

Reykjavik

Dallas

Dallas

Dallas

Dallas

Dallas

Windows have an added dimension when looking for details. Looking through them adds a bit of color, which enhances the detail.

Dallas

Greenville, SC

We walk on floors, inside and out. Get low and see their textures, lines and shape.

African American Museum ,Dallas

Lisbon

From bright and shining vintage cars in museums to not so bright and shining, just old, we’re drawn to their colorful details.

Antique Car Museum, Warrenton, TX

Antique Car Museum, Warrenton, TX

Auto Museum, Moncopulli, Chile

Auto Museum, Moncopulli, Chile

Minturn, CO

Then, there is ART. When I stand back and look at the entire piece, i.e. a painting, or move around a sculpture I have one kind of experience. When I move closer I can see the parts (details) making up the whole. I can see how light affects the surface. I can see the negative spaces. I can isolate the colors and textures.

Michelle O’Michael “Metamorph”

Juan Fontanive

In my paintings and collages there is the “whole”, composed of many parts in dialogue with one another. A closer look reveals the details.

Encounters. What I encounter, meet, come upon, find. Or, encounters between people, their conversations, their interactions.

Some encounters fall into the category of “weird and wonderful.”

A Yard For All Seasons

A Man’s Home Is His Castle

India

Canton, TX

Close encounters, up close and personal.

Settler’s Crossing, TX

India

Places that you enter and just stare in awe.

St. Michael’s Cave, Gibraltar

Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca

Person to person encounters. Musicians or people talking are oblivious to those around them. Oh, to be a fly on the wall!

Prague

Vietnam

Florence, Italy

Denison, TX

Strange sightings are all around. Close to home and far away.

Abandoned

Up A Tree, Lyons, CO

Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi, Vietnam

Florence, Italy

My encounters with sculpture have me trying to understand it in relation to its material, size/scale and location. How does the setting influence how the sculpture affects me? Cemetery or museum? Outside, in front of a museum, or inside? Sculpture park?

La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina

KAWS

KAWS

Todd Kurtzman

I have had wonderful, serendipitous encounters with people all over the world. Kids, especially, are funny, warm and welcoming.

India

Boy – Chiloe, Chile

Boys – Chile

Kids – Calafate, Argentina

Encounters can be underfoot or on the wall.

Underfoot – Dallas, TX

Underfoot – NYC

On The Wall, Argentina

Ghost Sign – Greenville, SC

On The Wall – Lisbon

Encounters – anywhere and everywhere.

Here are some notable “encounters” from you, dear reader. Thanks for opening our eyes and hearts to the world around us.

Elizabeth Greene-Birds Hilton Head

Marla Shainman-Wadi Run Jordan

Robert Weiss -Nike of Samothrace

Stan Feld-Cambodian Monkey

Theme #6 is Details.

Send me your photos as email attachments no larger than 1MB by March 6, 2017.

What is a place? Where is it? How many different associations with that place are there? Immediate or remembered? What do you think? How do you feel? Do you think/feel differently if the place is busy and crowded or quiet and devoid of people and activity? We move along, passing through some places quickly, maybe not noticing much but feeling the energy of the crowds. Or maybe we don’t and feel alone, surrounded by an anonymous group of strangers. The urban scene can be noisy and colorful.

Tokyo, Japan

Istanbul, Turkey

Dallas, TX

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, CA

Deep Ellum, Dallas, Tx

Reykyavik, Iceland

La Boca, Buenos Aires, Arg.

Other places are just right for contemplation. We relax and with heightened senses, linger. We’re apt to do this more in the natural environment than the “built” one. Spending time walking on beaches, along wooded trails, listening to the rush of water at a mountain stream and enjoying the full flower of springtime cherry blossoms can be calming and refreshing.

Lake Louise, Canada

Jasper Lake Lodge, Canada

Hollywood, Florida

Canon Beach, OR

Canon Beach, OR

Woodcreek Ranch, TX

Woodcreek Ranch, TX

Japan

Japan

There are times, even in the midst of the frenetic activity of city life, when people claim a spot to hang out, catch up or grab a bite to eat. It is their place.

There are places that can only be described as “other-worldly.” You know them when you see them. Places with the WOW factor.

Glacieres Ntl. Park, Arg.

Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadoccia, Turkey

Craters Skutustadir, Iceland

Places close to home or far away have offered me new and exciting experiences as well as moments of repose and contemplation. The place where I return, to work in solitude, is my studio at Woodcreek Ranch. There, I am alone, but never lonely.

Cecelia’s art studio, Woodcreek Ranch, TX

I am delighted to include your photos of Place. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Bruce Schlein

Jim deMoye, Sapphire, NC

Marla Shainman, Dubai

Kathryn Campbell-Piper’s Reading Nook

Linda Elkin

Ryan Diebel – Prague, Czech Republic

Stan Feld – Roundtop, TX

Theme #5 is Encounters.

Send me your photos as email attachments no larger than 1MB by February 6, 2017.

I look forward to being inspired by your work in 2017. Happy New Year!

Reflections of. Reflections in. Reflections on. How different the world can seem when we notice only a portion of it. Shapes and colors are distorted in strange and wonderful ways depending on the reflecting medium. I like to describe it as shape shifting. The image is somewhat recognizable but somehow different from what we expect.

Some materials are highly reflective like antique cars in a museum, polished to a fare thee well, reflecting people passing by as well as their pricey neighbors.

Antique Car Museum

Antique Car Museum

If the car is outdoors its colorful surroundings are captured on its slick and shiny surface.

Santa Fe

Sculptures, indoors and out, often have highly reflective surfaces which reflect museum goers, both those studying the sculpture and those photographing it. There is an otherworldly aspect to those reflections.

Jeff Koons

Donald Judd, Marfa

Loveland Sculpture Park, CO

Glass has a way of capturing and altering what it reflects. Sometimes it reflects what is in the immediate vicinity. Sometimes it lets us see through it and beyond in multiple layers.

Winspear Opera House, Dallas

Broad Museum, LA

Crystal Bridges Museum, Arkansas

Trammel Crow Building, Dallas

Glassware

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Water has its own special way of mesmerizing us with its reflections. This is shape shifting at its best. Wiggly, elusive images which change depending on the time of day and the light.

Look at water and architecture for playful abstract patterns of shape and color.

And now, YOUR photos! Thanks for letting us see what you see.

Elizabeth Greene – Libby

Marla Shainman – Rome

Moses Hoskins – Isfahan

Stan Feld – Woodcreek Ranch, TX

Phil Goodman

Next – Theme #4 is PLACE. It’s a word with many meanings. Literal or figurative. What’s your take on it? Get your photos ready and send them to me as email attachments no larger than 1MB JPG by January 4, 2017.

I didn’t think urbanity was a real word, but it is. urbanity – noun. urban life. What I had in mind for this theme was anything that gave us a sense of life in an urban setting. What is the feel of an urban space? What is the experience?

For me, it’s often people, lots of them. Crowded sidewalks, busy streets. People, traffic, noise. You sense the cacophony all around you.

Hanoi, Vietnam

Budapest, Hungary

Tokyo, Japan

Florence, Italy

NYC

San Francisco, CA

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Sometimes the streets are devoid of people, but the architecture let’s you know it’s a cityscape.

NYC

Ephesus, Turkey

Hanoi, Vietnam

The Modern, Ft. Worth, TX

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Dallas, TX

Dallas, TX

Brooklyn Bridge, NYC

High Line, NYC

London

Zagreb, Croatia

Lisbon, Portugal

NYC

A lot happens on the sidewalks of a big city. People make the sidewalk an extension of their home. They jam for us, they eat, they just hang out. They’re not always coming and going. The camaraderie belies the anonymity of urban life.

Budapest, Hungary

Rome, Italy

Barcelona, Spain

Calafate, Argentina

NYC

NYC

Here are some of YOUR photos! I am delighted to include them. Thanks for sharing your view of “urbanity.” You’ve made our day a little more interesting.

Bruce Schlein

Elizabeth Greene – Fish Fry

Moses Hawkins – Florence

Audrey Greene

Robert Weitz – Chicago

Theme #3 is “Reflections.” Gather up those photos and send them to me as email attachments, smaller than 1MG, by November 21, 2016.

Farmers’ Markets can be found all over the world. You probably have one in your home town. Some, like the Triana Market in Seville, Spain, are indoors. Here, vendors stack their fruits and veggies in beautiful arrangements surrounded by tile walls naming their spaces.

Triana Market, Seville

Fish!

Triana Market, Seville

Most markets are outdoors, spring through fall. From Boulder, Colorado and Portland, Oregon to far flung places like India, Ljubljiana (Slovenia), Turkey and Vietnam, markets are here, there, and everywhere. The intersection of people and commerce is always a lively event.

Boulder Tomatoes

High Finances-Portland

Ljubljiana Lady

Turkey

Vietnam Street Market

Vietnam Street Market

India

Flea markets are a little different. Wander around a flea market and you’ll find a little bit of everything, cheap or dear, junk or “junque.” Something old, something new. There are treasures every week at the San Telmo market in Buenos Aires. Closer to home one can find the fun and funky by the side of the river in Redstone, Colorado. On the street or inside there is something for everyone.

San Telmo Market-Buenos Aires

San Telmo Market-Buenos Aires

Redstone, Colorado

Tangier, Morocco

Casablanca

India

Minturn, Colorado

Alaska

Turkey

Thanks to all of you who sent me photos for this theme. Here are a few which, for me, capture the theme’s spirit.

Bruce Schlein

Al Padwa

Ginger Mynatt

Next up – Theme #2 – “Urbanity.” Lots of room for interpretation. Send me an email with attached jpg files, no larger than 1MB each by October 24, 2016.

I will be exhibiting photographs from my “Underfoot” series at Ilume Gallerie in Dallas from June 17 – July 16, 2016. The show features a variety of subject matter from a diverse group of photographers.

Here are several from that series which focus attention on what lies beneath our feet. The streets and sidewalks everywhere show human presence in their markings and signage. Many have an abstract quality to them. Some are explicit some are not. They are always colorful.

New York in the spring can bring any kind of weather even snow, which was predicted for the day we left the city. The floral dresses and short sleeves of a few weeks ago were replaced for a day or two with basic black, puffy coats and umbrellas. Temperatures ranged from 70 to 38 with a little rain and wind for good measure. Our preferred mode of travel in NYC is walking, followed by the subway and bus when necessary.

Spring has sprung!

A big part of the New York experience is food. Different neighborhoods, different ethnic inspired foods. What variety! It’s a true melting pot. The Lower East Side has been home to many immigrant groups, each contributing to the ever changing food landscape. Gentrification is occurring in the area (boutique hotels replacing tenement apartment buildings, skyrocketing rents) but some things never change. Or haven’t, yet.

NYC Lower East Side

Changes Occur

NYC Lower East Side

We joined a group with Free Tours By Foot for a glimpse, actually a taste, of mostly Jewish Eastern European culinary delights on their Lower East Side itinerary.

First stop – Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery, a neighborhood staple since 1910, founded by a Romanian immigrant, who first peddled his wares in Coney Island. How does one describe a “knish?” Mashed potato wrapped in dough doesn’t quite do it justice. It must be eaten hot! Huge. Enough for several people. An egg cream chaser hit the spot. This favorite drink from my NY childhood has neither eggs nor cream. It’s a fountain drink that does not come in a bottle. Whole milk is added to chocolate syrup, followed by a careful addition of cold seltzer (soda water). Stir! Sip! Yum!

Yonah Schimmel’s

Yonah Schimmel’s

Have A Knish

We stopped at Russ and Daughters, but did not partake. R & D was founded 100 years ago and is still going strong. The emphasis is on pickled and smoked fish but there are many other items on the menu. Believe it or not, recipes are on their website.

Russ & Daughters

Russ & Daughters

Judging by the crowds in Katz’s delicatessen, everyone who comes to New York eats there. It was a mad house so we didn’t stay to have one of their famous mile high pastrami sandwiches. This NY institution was founded in 1888. It’s where “Harry Met Sally.”

Katz’s Deli

At The Pickle Guys barrels and barrels of pickled goodies (not just pickles) beckon. There were many pickle stores on Essex Street at the turn of the 20th century. Stanley Feld warmly reminisces about “Jake, the pickle man.” Today, there is only the The Pickle Guys.

Pickles Galore!

C & C Prosperity Dumplings has branched out from its original location in Chinatown. The dumplings are made to order and include vegetarian options. Delicious!

A Whole Lot of Dumplings

As if we weren’t full enough we had to have a doughnut at Doughnut Plant, our last stop. It was hard to choose. There were filled (jam, cream, custard), yeast, Tres Leches, and Blackout, among them. We went with the Valrone chocolate covered. A gourmet doughnut!

Everyone Loves Doughnuts

The nice thing about Free Tours By Foot is that you only pay for what you eat, a little or a lot. A gratuity for the guide is appreciated.